‘I think the best way for me to adjust to married life is to practise every aspect of it,' she whispered, shocked by her own daring and yet driven by a primitive yearning she barely understood.
With fingers that shook slightly she slid the straps of her chemise down her arms and heard his harsh intake of breath when she peeled the grey silk down over her breasts, her stomach, and finally her hips, and allowed it to pool around her ankles.
She could hear the whisper of a breeze stir the leaves of the palm trees, and the song of some exotic bird, but the silence from Zahir stretched her nerves and she wondered for one terrible moment if she had got it wrong-if he had been turned off by her inexperience or had tired of her already. His slow, sensual smile reassured her, and the molten heat that gleamed from beneath his heavy lids promised heaven.
‘Come and swim with me, then, kalila,' he invited, and before she realised his intention he'd caught hold of her hand and pulled her into the pool, his mouth capturing her startled cry as they sank beneath the surface.
The water was cool on her heated skin, but Zahir's body was warm when he crushed her against his chest and tangled his legs with hers, holding her so tightly to him that their bodies seemed to be melded together. Erin was out of her depth, and clung to his shoulders. She had closed her eyes when he'd pulled her under, and, deprived of vision, her other senses seemed more acute.
She loved the sensation of his lips moving deliciously on hers beneath the water, of his hands roaming up and down her body before sliding beneath her to cup her bottom. But finally the need for oxygen forced him to propel them upwards, and when they burst through the surface of the pool he broke the kiss, smoothing her tangled curls back from her face.
‘Are you sure this is what you want, Aphrodite?'
Zahir's deep, velvet-soft voice resonated through her, and Erin's eyes flew open as she felt his powerful erection nudge between her thighs. Was he going to make love to her in the pool? Excitement cascaded through her, and she nodded wordlessly and wrapped her legs around him in mute invitation.
His husky laughter tickled her ear. ‘Patience, kalila. This time we will take it slowly, and I will take great care not to hurt you,' he promised as he strode out of the pool and across the sand towards the tent. The friction of her breasts rubbing against his hair-roughened chest caused her nipples to swell and tighten, and she could not restrain a little shiver of pleasurable anticipation at the thought that he would soon be caressing her with his hands and his mouth.
The interior of the tent was cool and dim after the bright light outside. Their bodies were already almost dry from the heat of the sun, but when Zahir set her down he wrapped her in a towel and continued the process with an efficiency that left her tingling all over.
He was not the only one who could tease. ‘My turn,' she murmured, taking the towel from him and patting the droplets of water that still clung to his chest hair. She moved the towel lower, totally absorbed in her task, and heard his breath hiss between his teeth when curiosity overcame her shyness and she stroked her fingers along the solid length of his throbbing arousal. Steel wrapped in velvet, she thought wonderingly, surprised by her own daring as she circled him and felt him harden still further in her hands. He was beautiful, like some magnificent sculpture, but instead of being formed from cold marble his skin was warm and satin-soft beneath her fingertips.
Zahir uttered a harsh groan and gripped her wrist. ‘Enough, kalila,' he muttered hoarsely. Her innocence was indisputable, but she was obviously a born seductress. ‘Much more of that and we won't even make it onto the bed. Now it is my turn to prepare you. Lie down,' he commanded softly, his eyes meshing with hers when she complied and stretched out on the silk sheets.
For a moment he simply stood there, staring down at her, and Erin's breath caught when she saw the gleam of primitive hunger in his gaze.
‘You are so beautiful,' he said rawly. ‘The moment I saw you I could not take my eyes off you. All I could think of was how quickly I could persuade you into my bed. Now you are my wife, and I find that I am very possessive.' He gave a self-derisive laugh and said beneath his breath, ‘Which is not something I had expected.'
For a second an emotion crossed his face that Erin could not decipher, but then it was gone, and his slow, sexy smile sent fire thundering through her veins. He came down beside her on the bed and leaned over her to claim her mouth in an unhurried kiss, tracing the shape of her lips with his tongue before dipping between them to initiate a sensual exploration that left her breathless. Then he moved lower, trailing a line of kisses down her throat while he cupped her breasts in his palms and watched her nipples swell as he rolled them gently between finger and thumb.
The feel of his mouth closing around one jutting peak and then the other was so exquisite that Erin whimpered and dug her fingers into his shoulders. She was ready for him, had been since he had stripped by the pool, but he ignored her soft cries that she couldn't wait and slipped his hand between her thighs. He parted her and slid one finger and then two into her molten warmth, gently stretching her in readiness for his full possession. He was determined not to rush her, as he had done the previous night, but the silken evidence that she was fully aroused was seriously testing his self-control, and with a muttered oath he positioned himself above her and dropped a hard kiss on her mouth.
Erin twisted her hips restlessly as the first spasms of pleasure radiated out from deep in her pelvis. Zahir's wickedly skilful fingers were taking her higher and higher, but she wanted more, wanted to feel him deep inside her, and when he settled himself between her legs she bent her knees, her breath catching as he entered her with one careful thrust. He'd said he would take it slowly this time and he hadn't been joking, she realised when he drew back and then cautiously thrust again, with such exquisite care that tears blurred her eyes.
Last night he had sought to dominate her, but now he was treating her with such gentle respect that her heart ached. This was how it must be between two people who loved each other. But Zahir did not love her. He was simply determined to restore his pride and prove he was not at the mercy of his hormones. Nor did she love him, she reminded herself. It was just sex-very, very good sex. She doubted any other man could give her such pleasure, and now she would never find out. She had decided to marry him in a moment of panic, fearing that she would lose Kazim if she did not become his wife, but in her eyes marriage was a lifelong commitment that she was determined to honour.
Zahir suddenly stilled his movements, and his jaw clenched when he caught the shimmer of tears in Erin's eyes. ‘You should have told me I was hurting you,' he grated harshly, already withdrawing from her, but Erin slid her arms across his back and tried to urge him forward.
‘You're not hurting me, I promise,' she assured him frantically. ‘Don't stop, Zahir. Please.' As she spoke she lifted her hips and wrapped her legs tightly around him, and after a moment's hesitation he moved again, gentle at first, then harder and faster, bitterly aware that he could not fight his desperate need for sexual release.